Otis Worldwide facts for kids
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Headquarters in Farmington, Connecticut.
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Trade name
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Otis Elevator Company |
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| Public | |
| Traded as |
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| Industry | Transport systems |
| Predecessor | United Technologies |
| Founded | 20 September 1853 (acquired in 1976, spun off in 2020) |
| Founder | Elisha Otis (original Otis Elevator Company) |
| Headquarters | Farmington, Connecticut, U.S. |
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Area served
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Worldwide |
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Key people
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Judy Marks (President and CEO) |
| Products | Elevators and escalators |
| Revenue |  US$14.21 billion (2023) |
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Operating income
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US$2.186 billion (2023) |
| US$1.406 billion (2023) |
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| Total assets | US$10.12 billion (2023) |
| Total equity |  US$-4.92 billion (2023) |
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Number of employees
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71,000 (2023) |
Otis Worldwide Corporation, also known as the Otis Elevator Company, is an American company. They create, build, and sell elevators, escalators, and moving walkways. They also make other related equipment.
Based in Farmington, Connecticut, U.S., Otis is the world's largest maker of systems that move people up and down. They mainly focus on elevators, moving walkways, and escalators.
The company is famous for inventing the "safety elevator." Elisha Otis created this in 1852. It had a special system to stop the elevator car if the ropes broke.
The Otis Elevator Company became part of United Technologies in 1976. But in April 2020, it became an independent company again. Its new name was Otis Worldwide Corporation.
Their slogan is "Made to move you."
Contents
History
The Booming Elevator Market
In 1852, Elisha Otis invented the safety elevator. This amazing invention would automatically stop if the hoisting rope broke. He showed it off at the 1853 New York World's Fair. This demonstration helped people trust elevators more.
Elisha Otis founded the Otis Elevator Company in Yonkers, New York, in 1853. When Elisha passed away in 1861, his sons Charles and Norton took over the business. During the American Civil War, their elevators were in high demand. Businesses across the United States bought them to move war materials. In 1864, the company became Otis Brothers & Co. They opened a factory in Yonkers, New York, in 1867.
New Elevator Technologies
In 1925, Otis introduced the world's first fully automatic elevator. It was called Collective Control. In 1931, the company put in the world's first double-deck elevator at 70 Pine Street in New York City. This type of elevator has two cars, one on top of the other.
In the early 1950s, Otis created "Autotronic." This was a computer system for fast elevators. It could guess how many people would be in a building at different times. This helped the elevators move people around more efficiently.
Otis opened a factory in Bloomington, Indiana, in 1965. In 1977, they launched "Elevonic," which was even more advanced. It used microprocessors, like tiny computers, to control elevators. This was a big step up from older systems.
Changes in the 1980s and 1990s
Otis became a part of United Technologies in 1976. In 1981, the Yonkers factory closed. It was later bought by Kawasaki to build train cars.
During the 1980s, Otis developed the Remote Elevator Monitoring (REM) system. This system collected information from 300,000 elevators. It helped them understand how elevators were being used.
Otis also worked on horizontal people-mover systems, like the Otis Hovair. These are like small trains that move people short distances.
In 1997, Otis Elevator Company bought Evans Lifts in the UK. Evans Lifts was the oldest and largest maker of lift equipment in the UK. Otis's Customer Care Centre is still in the old Evans Lifts building in Leicester, England.
In 1999, Otis bought CemcoLift, Inc. This company was located in Hatfield, Pennsylvania.
Otis in South Korea
Otis has a long history in Korea. In 1910, they installed the first elevator for money at the Bank of Chosun. They also put in the first passenger elevator in Korea at a railway hotel. For many years, Otis elevators were very common in Korea.
In 1982, Otis returned to the Korean market. They worked with a company called Dongyang Elevator. Later, in 1991, they took over Korea Engineering, another elevator maker. This led to 'Korea OTIS Elevator'.
Over the years, Otis made more changes in Korea. They took over parts of LG Industrial Systems Elevator in 1999. This company was then called LG-OTIS. Eventually, in 2005, the 'LG' name was removed. The company became 'Otis Elevator Korea'.
The 21st Century
In 2011, Otis bought another elevator company called Marshall Elevator. Otis also moved some of its manufacturing. They closed operations in Nogales and Tucson, Arizona. They moved these to Florence, South Carolina. As part of this change, they closed their Bloomington factory in 2012.
In October 2013, Otis won its biggest contract ever. They were chosen to supply 670 elevators and escalators for the Hyderabad Metro in India. Their second biggest contract was in 2012. They supplied 349 elevators for the Hangzhou metro in China.
In January 2018, Otis installed the world's longest double-deck elevator. This was in the 555-meter Lotte World Tower in Seoul. This "sky shuttle" can take 54 passengers from the 2nd floor to the 121st floor in just 1 minute!
On November 26, 2018, United Technologies announced a big change. They would spin off Otis Elevator into its own independent company. Its main office would stay in Connecticut. In 2019, Otis started using more artificial intelligence. This helps them predict how elevators will work.
Notable Installations
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Otis has installed elevators in some of the world's most famous buildings. These include:
- Eiffel Tower
- Empire State Building (they helped modernize it in 2011)
- The original World Trade Center
- The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror Attractions (including the ride parts)
- Petronas Twin Towers
- Burj Khalifa
- CN Tower
- Winchester Mystery House
- Hotel del Coronado
- Demarest Building (this building had the first electric elevator!)
- The Singing Tower at Bok Tower Gardens
- Skylon Tower
- 30 Hudson Yards
- Willis Tower (they helped modernize it)
- Raj Bhavan (this building had India's first elevator)
- University of Wisconsin-Madison Memorial Union
See also
- Otis Elevating Railway
- List of elevator manufacturers
Images for kids
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Otis Steel Mill in Ohio, 1929
